My Unplanned Fame
by She'sAManiac
Summary: After an amazing music deal, Ted's band, The Blanks, have skyrocketed straight to fame, and the perks and the trials that come with it. While his bandmates love it, Ted isn't so sure. Can a new song help him decide what he really wants? COMPLETE.
1. Prologue

Note-The Blanks are, obviously, Ted's band in Scrubs

**Note-The Blanks are, obviously, Ted's band in Scrubs. Crispin is the one with a full head of black hair; Roy is the completely bald one; Randall is the one with a beard and glasses; and we all know who Ted is! Dan in this story is not the same man as Dan Dorian. Enjoy!**

I sat on my couch, strumming my ukulele absent mindedly. I stopped, put it down, and laid back with a sigh. There were four glasses of red wine on the coffee table from where my friends had been a short while ago.

Dan had called earlier to say that we had to write a new song for our upcoming performance. He said that our usual tribute songs were all well and good, but that it was time for some original material.

So now I was sitting here at 11:47 pm, staring at the blank music sheet in front of me. I turned over a few lyrics in my head, imagined a few chords, hummed a few notes. Still nothing sprang to mind. I stood up, and walked to the large window-door that led to the balcony. Outside, I could see the famous Manhatten skyline, awash with light that paled the black sky.

I caught myself thinking of the hospital. I tried to push all thought of it out of my mind. I kept telling myself: they hated you, Ted; you were just the sad-sack they all laughed at. Well look who's laughing now! I smiled to myself, wryly. As much as I hated to admit it, I missed the place.

Suddenly, I caught a flash of inspiration. I went back to the couch, grabbed my ukulele, and played a few chords and notes. I wrote a verse, a chorus, a song down on the paper.

When I was done, I sat back and smiled.

The crowds were gonna love this!


	2. My Memories

**Note-This story is dedicated to Sock Fiend, my first reviewer! This is really an explanatory chapter, but still vital!**

**Note to Sock Fiend-They change their name to The Blanks at some point.**

* * *

It had all started when Dan had heard them singing at Carla's baby shower. He had been one of Dr Slawsky's patients, but it was nothing a simple pacemaker couldn't solve. He had found Ted in his office, and Ted had been terrified that he was going to be sued…again.

"Mr. Buckland!" Dan had smiled, stretching out his hand, beaming white teeth. With his black locks and vivid green eyes, he looked like a portly, aged movie star. "The name's Dan. Dan Adams!"

But he wasn't a movie star. He was the owner of a million dollar earning record company. Which, in Ted's eyes, was just as good.

"Listen, Ted, I can call you Ted, right? I heard your band singing earlier today. And I think you've got something there. I think I could make you big! Sign you a record deal, get you a few gigs, who knows? Whaddya say?"

And it was done. They had recorded their first album, "Riding the Waves", and it had been a smash hit, with rave reviews left right and centre. And soon they had skyrocketed to fame. Everywhere Ted went from now on, he saw his name in lights and his face on huge billboards.

Then they had done gigs, concerts, the whole caboodle. He had stopped trying to commit suicide off the hospital roof, and he had enough money to stop living with his mom (not that he wanted to). But even then, it felt like it was just a fad, that eventually it would fizzle out and he would go back to being the terrible, worthless, sad-sack lawyer of a teaching hospital. Everything seemed so fast and hectic, it made his head spin.

Then one day, Kelso had called him in to his office.

"You've been neglecting your duties more than usual recently!" he had said.

"Sir, with all due respect I've been a little busy with my band…"

"Ted, with no respect whatsoever, I don't care what you or any one of my little minions gets up to in your miserable lives, the hospital is your top priority! Obviously, in your case, it isn't. So I'm letting you go"

Ted had been too stunned to speak.

"W-what?"

"I'm letting you go. You're fired, get out of my sight! I'm hiring a competent lawyer!"

Ted was shocked to find that, after waiting so long for this moment, he wasn't as happy as he would have expected. He had turned around to leave when Kelso spoke again.

"Oh, and Ted? I've heard your band. It's terrible music"

Over the next few months, Dan had scheduled a Manhattan gig, and had told Ted to start enjoying the finer things in life. The concert had sold out in minutes, much to their delight. By the time they'd done their New York tour, they were rolling in dollars. Ted had even bought a second flat, overlooking the famous Manhattan skyline. After the tour, he began to live full time in his Manhattan apartment, and the other's moved in close by. They'd broadened out their genre to cartoon themes, classic movie songs, prime time themes, and whatever sounded good.

Yet, he missed the hospital, however much he hated it. It wasn't because of the Janitor and his so-called friends in the Brain Trust. It wasn't because of Kelso, oh no. It was because of her. The beautiful nurse he just could not push out of his mind. The only person who acknowledged his existence there and cared for him.

Carla…

But that was all behind him. Now he was famous, and could afford as many toupees as he wanted! He still felt that something was missing, somehow, even though he had everything he could possibly want. He had good friends, money, and nice stuff. He didn't have to worry about Kelso's coffee or any of the Janitor's crazy schemes. He didn't stand on a rooftop every day, contemplating. He was living the good life now.

But there was still something missing…

But he didn't have time to think about it. He was about to go for practice at Randall's apartment, then they were performing at a local bar in the evening.

Ted grabbed his coat, and stepped out into the crisp autumn sunlight. He smiled, shielded his eyes from the stinging light, and carried on walking.

Yep, this was the good life…


	3. My Voicemails

Note-The Blanks are, obviously, Ted's band in Scrubs

**Note-Thanks to all my lovelies, aka my reviewers!**

When Ted finally stumbled in, it was already nine in the evening. The gig had gone extremely well, as always, but he was freezing, so he switched on his electrical fire, and pressed the play button on his voicemails.

_Beep! Hey, Ted, it's Roy! Great gig tonight. Sorry Crispin was out of order, I'll have a word with him about that…anyway, I'll see you tomorrow evening. We're at mine, right? See you then. Bye._

Ted snorted. It was sweet of Roy to apologize on Crispin's behalf, but he was still pissed off. Crispin had confronted him about how he bossed people around, that it was everyone's band, not just his. Idiot! What had he ever done for this band except hum out of tune? He was the sex appeal, nothing more!

_Beep! For God's sake, Tom, get your ass over here and mow my lawn! And when you're done you can polish my car, and Baxter needs his poopy-box attended to! Wait a minute…this is Ted's number! Damn speed dial…!_

Ted laughed out loud. Kelso's jobs were past him now! He went over to the fridge, and cracked open a beer as the next voicemail began to play.

_Beep! Hey, Teddy! It's your old friend, the Janitor! You haven't been around recently, and I need to discuss the Brain Trust's winter sledging break. I had to get your number by breaking into your files. Anyway, call back!_

_Beep! Ted…its Kristen…_

Ted's ears pricked up, and he nearly choked on the mouthful of alcohol. He stared, transfixes, dumbstruck, at the phone.

_We haven't spoken for a while. We need to talk. Call me…Beep! You have no new messages in your inbox. To repeat, press one…_

Ted dived at the phone, and dialed the number. He held it tentatively to his ear, as if it was red hot. It rang four times before he heard the cool voice on the other end.

"_Hello?"_

For a moment that flashed before his eyes, he saw her clearly. He saw her long, ginger hair falling smoothly down her back, and her bottle-green eyes. He heard her laugh, and he saw her smile with red lips. Then the icy cold voice brought him back to Earth.

"_Hello? Who is this?"_

"K-Kristen? It's me; it's…its Ted!"

"_Oh…hi Ted. You got my message?"_

"Yeah…how are you? Is everything ok?"

"_I'm fine"_

"How's Billy?"

"_He's fine as well"_

"You wanted to talk to me about something?"

"_Yes. I've heard your band on the radio. You finally took off, huh?"_

"Yeah"

"_Reckon you could start paying custody then? You know, for your son?"_

"Kristen, let me see him! Please!"

"_I don't know, Ted. You couldn't provide for him then, whose saying you can provide for him now?"_

"I can! Please, Kristen! I need to see him!"

"_What about me, Ted?"_ said the crackly voice, suddenly seductive. _"Do you need to see me? I missed you…did you miss me?"_

"Kristen, I…you left me for my brother! Don't do this…"

"_Are you sure? Don't you remember how much you needed me…?"_

"Kristen, I've met someone else!"

There was silence. He could hear her breathing on the other end. The calm before the storm.

"_Oh…what's she like?"_

"She's…beautiful…" Ted murmured. He only had to think of the luxurious black curls and he was speechless.

"_Fine. I'll call you about custody…"_

"What about Billy? When can I see him?"

"_I'll think about it. Goodbye, Ted…"_

There was a crack on the other end where she'd put the phone down. Ted sank down onto his couch, and put his head into his hands, and sobbed.

He'd finally worked out what he was missing.


	4. My New Song

**Note-Aww! Poor Teddy! On with the show!**

**Disclaimer-I don't own Scrubs. The song in this show is copywrite of my friend Tabitha (not real name), to who I give all credit for the lyrics. **

"Ted!" yelled a voice. Ted woke up from his dreams with a start. Looking around, he realized he'd fallen asleep on the couch after last night. He was still in his clothes. He looked at the clock on the coffee table. It was 8:28 in the morning. And someone was pounding manically at his front door.

"Ted! For god's sake, man, open up!"

Ted stumbled towards the door and opened it. Dan practically fell into the apartment. He had a concerned look plastered on his face, which evaporated as soon as he saw Ted's face looking down at him.

"Jesus, Ted, I thought you'd died or something!" Dan panted. "You didn't answer any of my damn calls, where the hell where you?"

"I-I was asleep…" Ted said.

"You don't have time! The concert's this evening, and you haven't sent me any of your new material!"

"I don't have any new material…"

"What? I told you to write something, the damn concert's this evening!"

"I was thinking we could just play our usual, it's what we're good at" Ted protested in his monotonous voice.

"No, Ted! I told you to write something new! When I tell you something, you do it, got that?" Dan snapped. "You better write something today, and you better get it rehearsed to perfection, otherwise I'm canceling the concert, and the deals off! Got that?"

Ted nodded, and Dan left in a huff. It often amazed Ted how much Dan was like Kelso when he was angry. Ted looked at the sheet of paper on the desk. When he'd written it last night it had seemed perfect, but now it just seemed like lovesick pleads, not good enough for any concert, and certainly not good enough for _her_…

He didn't want to perform it, not tonight. He wanted to edit it until it was perfect, and then surprise her with a serenade…yeah, like that was ever gonna happen! She was married, anyway. Although he'd never understood her taste in men, after all, he was bald too! Oh well. It looked like he had to perform it tonight, like it or not, or Dan would have his head. And not on the cover of an album.

* * *

The hall was packed. Ted and his band stood behind the red curtains, listening to the slowly growing rumble of noise as it gradually went from packed to overflowing, and trembled in the suits they used to wear to work. Ted could feel the flop sweat beginning to tingle on his brow, anticipating when to stream down his face and humiliate him.

Then he heard the man on the microphone, and the curtain rose dramatically. He took a step forward to speak into the mic…but then something stopped him.

In the back row stood the Janitor, Doug, Todd, Dr Dorian, Dr Turk, Dr Reid and…Carla. She grinned, and waved at him. Ted's heart skipped twenty beats and then threatened to pulsate right out of his chest and onto the stage. Then out of the corner of his eye, I saw Randall madly eye-signaling me, and he remembered that he was meant to be speaking.

"Hi…we're The Blanks…"

The crowd erupted into frantic cheering. Ted grinned falsely. Sometimes he wished that there was someone out there who hated their music.

"Thank you all so much for coming…" he said. He still had my eye on the group at the back. "We're gonna start off with one of our earliest songs: Charles in Charge!"

So they sang, and people clapped. Then they sang again, and people clapped. After a while, the noise got a little repetitive, and Ted fazed out. The night went on, and all he wanted was to go home, sip wine and read a book, or watch House on TV. Halfway through the gig, he saw Kristen come in, accompanied by a young boy with a thick, black curly hair. It was his son Billy, and his heart wrenched to see him all grown up. But then she left twenty minutes later.

Then, at about half past ten, it was time.

"Ok, we're gonna finish with something new…in fact, we only wrote it this morning!" Ted laughed nervously. The crowd dutifully laughed along.

"This song is called Baby Beautiful. I hope you enjoy it"

He raised my mouth to the microphone, and began to sing.

_The wine is gone  
My friends aren't here  
And all I can think of is you my dear  
In the car, when I'm at work  
In bed when my mother's not here…  
Oh baby, I love you so._

_I want be with you  
All the time  
I want to hold you in my arms!  
Kiss me quick, kiss me slow,  
In the parking lot  
Or anywhere you want to…  
Oh baby, I love you so._

_So give me a call  
'Coz you do have my number  
I know I gave it to you,  
On a piece of paper  
When your husband was in a law suit…  
Oh baby, I love you so._

_Why won't you see me?  
Why won't you notice me?  
I smiled at you,  
But you just looked right through me…  
Oh baby, I love you so._

_Yes I do…_

_Oh baby, I love you so._


	5. Epilogue

Note-The Blanks are, obviously, Ted's band in Scrubs

**Note-Thanks for all my lovely readers and reviewers!**

It was a frosty day, but the sun was shining brightly on Ted as he walked on the concrete pavement. The sky was clear and blue, with transparent, ghostly clouds that lazily collided and drifted apart again. With a spring in his step and a whistle on his lips, he walked up the stairs he'd missed, into the office he'd missed not so much.

"For God's sake, Tom, I don't care what pathetic excuses you have, you have to come and prepare your speech for my award ceremony! What do you mean; you're not going to be there? How dare you disobey me? I am your boss, and… what? How dare you hanf up on me you insolent…" Kelso screeched, and slammed his phone down on the desk. Then he looked up at the door.

"Ted? What are you doing here?"

"Sir I want my old job back" Ted said, in his clear, monotonous voice. Kelso stared at him, confused. Then he picked up the phone, held down 1, and held it to his ear.

"Tom? You're fired" he said. He put the phone down and smiled. Ted was taken-aback. He hadn't expected it to be that easy.

"He was costing the hospital a lot of money. I was gonna fire him anyway" Kelso snapped. But Ted knew that it wasn't true.

"Welcome back, Ted" Kelso grinned. He got up, and put his arm around Ted's shoulders, and led him back to his old office. He practically threw the lawyer down in his chair.

"Now get on with your work so I can go back to mine" he snapped, and left.

Ted leant back in the familiar, tattered swivel chair, and looked out the window at the familiar setting. There he sat, at peace, for an hour. Then, suddenly, he was jolted out of his contented state by a rap on his door. It opened, and Carla came in. Ted felt his heart pulsating wildly.

"Hey, Ted!" Carla said. Ted tried to reply, but he found that he could only make sounds that slid out of his mouth in a stream of nonsense. He could only think about how beautiful she looked in her lilac scrubs.

"Hey, C-C-Carla…" he stuttered. Carla smiled, and flop sweat cascaded down Ted's face, so much he could almost feel himself downing.

"We heard you came back! It got round the hospital in a flash. Everyone's so happy; Tom was a self-righteous A-Hole!"

Ted was astounded.

"Y-You're happy I'm b-back?"

"Of course we are! We missed you!" Carla said. Then she reached up and pecked Ted on the cheek. Then she smiled, and left.

"Hot…damn…" Ted whispered to himself. Then he turned back to the window, and the view of the parking lot.

Maybe this place wasn't so bad after all…


End file.
